Collections added to Findmypast in October/November 2015

[This collection] allows you to explore 112 volumes of fascinating documents spanning three centuries. They include a wide variety of records ranging from trade directories and county guides to almanacs and general directories. Almanacs and directories are an excellent resource for anyone researching their family history and can provide unique insights into how your ancestors lived.

Included in the collection is Colonial Office Lists from 1863 and 1870. They includes both lists of officers and those working within the civil establishment throughout the British Empire and can even provide geographical details and histories of regions such as Barbardos, the Cape of Good Hope, Dominica, Malta, Nova scotia, New South Wales and Trinidad.

The collection is formed from records held by the Anguline Research Archives, Gould Genealogy, Yorkshire Ancestors and Eneclann. There are also a significant number of Irish records taken from Dod’s Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, and Thom’s Official Directory for Great Britain & Ireland, 1914 – a directory for both Great Britain and Ireland which includes social and economic statistics for all countries involved.

Irish Newspapers

Discover if your Irish ancestors ever made the papers and explore 6 brand new titles and over 724,000 new articles, now available to search in our collection of historic Irish Newspapers. These latest additions include titles from several countries as well as a national publication – The Evening Freeman.

New articles have also been added to existing titles including substantial updates to the Belfast Commercial Chronicle, Clare Journal, Ennis Advertiser and The Pilot. The entire collection now contains more than 10.5 million fully searchable articles, covers over 230 years of Irish history (1719-1950) and currently includes 88 titles.

Historic Public School Registers

The Eton College Register 1441-1698 allows you to explore fascinating school records dating back to the 15th century from one of the UK’s leading Independent schools. Spanning three centuries and containing over 4,000 records, the registers not only reveal the names of Old Etonians but also their year of birth, the name of their father and details surrounding their education and employment after leaving the college.

The London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926 comprises over 18,000 records spanning three centuries. Dulwich College, an independent public school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, was founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor and contemporary of Shakespeare, Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars. Records can reveal the details of both pupils and staff, including their names, position within the school, birth year, and parents’ names as well as the notable achievements of former pupils.

The Sussex, Lancing College Register 1901-1954 lists the details of pupils and staff and Lancing College, the first of more than 30 schools founded by Reverend Nathaniel Woodward. He established the school in 1848 in order to provide education “based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith.” Many of those listed fought in either the First or Second World Wars.

New York Records

New York baptisms 1660-1862 covers baptisms conducted Long Island, Staten Island, Kingston, New York City, between 1660 and 1862 and allows you to discover if you had family in the region when it was still a Dutch colony. Each record consists of a transcript of the original church registers. They can reveal where and when your ancestor was born, the date and location of their baptism, their residence, the names of both their parents including the mother’s maiden name and father’s occupation.

New York marriages 1639-1900 allows you to search through transcripts of church and county records from Long Island, Staten Island, Yorktown, Montgomery County, and Westchester that begin 14 years after the colony of New Amsterdam was founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1625. Each record consists of a transcript that can reveal the full names of both the bride and groom, their date of marriage, their place of marriage, their respective ages at the time of their marriage, their occupations and residences and the occupations and addresses of their parents.

New York deaths & burials 1758-1862 consists of transcripts that can reveal where and when your ancestor was buried as well as valuable biographical details such as their age at death, residence, occupation and the names of their parents or spouse. The records cover Jamaica, Newton and Success in Long Island, Staten Island and Yorktown.

England & Wales, Electoral Registers 1832-1932

The registers have been released in association with the British Library and are the result of a mammoth digitisation project to scan 100 years of microfilmed copies of printed registers, housed on 2.25 miles (3.62 linear km) of shelving. Electoral Registers are listings of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The lists were created annually to record the names of eligible voters and their reason for eligibility, such as their residence or ownership of a property. This is the first time these registers have been made available online.

Britain, Absent Voters Lists 1918-1921

[This collection lists] over 100,000 names of servicemen, women serving with the auxiliary forces, merchant seamen, diplomats and others working in occupations recognised as supporting the war effort. Absent voters’ lists are registers of eligible voters who were absent from their homes. Lists were sent to the Adjutant General’s Department of the War Office who then arranged to send voting cards to men and women in the UK and ballot papers to those in France.

Ireland, Electoral Registers 1885-1886

[This collection] contains over 3,000 records covering 12 [out of 32] counties. The 1880’s was a period of drastic change in Ireland, from land reform and the beginning of the Home Rule Crisis to the rise of the Irish Parliamentary Party. From the Act of Union in 1801, until [1922], over 7,000 electoral registers were created, but the British Library holds only the registers for a single year.

[This collection] covers the traditional county of Linlithgowshire. The registers allow you to find out where your West Lothian ancestors lived, what they did and whether they owned property in the area.

British Newspapers

Over 3.5 million new articles and 22 new titles covering England, Scotland and Wales are now available to search in our collection of historic British newspapers. Trace your military ancestors with the newly available Army and Navy Gazette or uncover the history of 19th century Glasgow with a trio of new titles from Scotland’s [largest] city – Glasgow Free Press, Glasgow Gazette and Glasgow Morning Journal. Substantial updates have also been made to 42 existing titles including 319,819 new articles for the London Daily News, 245,831 for national newspaper The Daily Mirror and 238,501 for the Leeds Mercury.

[This collection] covers the historic diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, which includes Staffordshire, Derbyshire, North Shropshire, and north and east Warwickshire. Marriage allegations are sworn statements prepared by the groom that allow you to discover the intended marriage place and groom’s occupation. A marriage license allegation and bond would be submitted to the church courts in support of an application for a marriage licence. The bond was intended to assert the authenticity and legality of the allegations, pledging a sum that would be forfeited if the documents proved inaccurate.

North West Kent Parish Records

Over 22,000 new baptism and burial records have been added our collection of North West Kent baptisms. The new additions cover the parishes of Bexley St Mary, Chelsfield St Martin of Tours, Lee St Margaret and Meopham St John the Baptist. These records allow you to discover where and when you’re Kent relatives were born, who their parents were, and their father’s occupation. Also where they lived, their age at death and where they were laid to rest.

Burials for Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham

Over 18,000 burial records from the ecclesiastical parishes of At Andrew and St Helen in Bishop Auckland, County Durham have been added to the National Burial Index for England & Wales. Each record consist of a transcript that will reveal your ancestors burial place, year of death and religious denomination.

The Lloyd’s Register of Merchant Ships Index 1843

[This collection] was created using the 1843 publication of Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, provided by John Dagger. Lloyd’s register was completed annually and this register covers 1 July 1843 to 30 June 1844. The names found within this index refer to the master of the ship. The master was responsible for the vessel’s daily operation including navigation, ensuring that the ship was fitted out correctly, repairs and overseeing all the cargo. The master also kept the daily logs for the ship and managed the ship’s budget.

It is important to note that ships often changed names when they changed owners. For example, in 1849, Cunard sold the Britannia to the German Confederation Navy who renamed the ship the SMS Barbarossa. The ship was then fitted with guns and became the flagship of the German Navy.

Ely Diocese Marriage Licences 1684-1811

[This collection] contains more than 8,000 records that allow you to discover the date your ancestors were issued their marriage licence, spouse’s name and the name of the bondsman for the licence. Many of the records also include the bride’s maiden name, an excellent find for family historians, however, although it is important to note that the existence of a marriage licence does not necessarily mean that a marriage occurred.

A marriage licence could be requested instead of the traditional banns for various reasons, among them being a couple wanting to marry quickly or avoid the reading of the banns if, for example, the local community did not know them. In order to obtain a licence, the couple signed a marriage allegation. It stated that there was no legal or moral reason they could not be married. Additionally, a groom would pledge a bond, a monetary amount, to be forfeited in case he did not marry the intended bride. A bondsman, or a surety, would be named on the licence. Often the bondsman was a relative of the groom, but could also be a neighbour or friend. After 1823, marriage bonds were no longer required.

Each record includes a transcript created by Avril Symonds from the original records held in the Suffolk Record Office and the Cambridge University Library.

Bradford Family History Society Burials

Over 62,000 additions have been made to our collection of Yorkshire parish burials. These span over 200 years, cover 18 different locations and can reveal your ancestor’s name, age at death and burial place. The full collection contains more than 1.8 million records covering over 400 years of the county’s history. Before the introduction of civil registration in 1837, Church of England parishes recorded the bulk of births, marriages and deaths. The Church of England mandated the keeping of records in all its parishes from 1537 with the earliest records generally starting in 1538.